Police have arrested an 18-year-old man in connection with the stabbing of a teenage Russian girl.

The 15-year-old from Moscow was walking with a friend along Headington Road on Saturday when she was attacked and robbed of her black rucksack. It contained personal papers and some cash.

She and her 16-year-old friend, who are studying English, walked back to their accommodation in Cheney Lane to raise the alarm.

Officers set up a mobile incident room and were flooded with calls from the public after appealing for information about the attack.

The girl is now in a stable condition following emergency surgery at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. Her parents are expected to fly to Britain to be with her.

The 18-year-old man, from Oxford, is being questioned by detectives at St Aldates police station but has not been charged.

Det Insp Melvin Young thanked the public for responding to the appeal.

He said: "We have had an excellent response from the community and we would like to thank people for every piece of information we received.

"We are planning to ring each person individually to thank them.

"The girl is still in hospital but she is getting better and we expect her to return home as soon as she is fit enough to travel."

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